Family Ties
by MorganNiall.NB
Summary: What if Ciaran MacEwan had a secret that would crumble everyone's idea of Good vs Evil, and the only person that knew this was Morgan? Set After Full Circle
1. Chapter 1

After that last comment of his, I knew what he was trying to tell me and I stood up and ran to the nearest exit. My father was trying to warn me, to tell me that Amyranth's next target was the Sgiurs Dan, and that he couldn't stop them. They were saying that I was too big of a threat, to stand with the other side.

I was running now, as far away as I could, yet I had nowhere to run to.

Hunter and I had broken up, almost five years ago, and since then I lived by myself, and had adopted my brother Killian's lifestyle. Kill and I had grown to be very close. Killian was one of the few things left for me in this world. He was my rock and kept me sane.

My problematic relationship with Amyranth, was something that I hid from everyone I knew, even Killian. It was a known fact that I was bound to have trouble with them, but I usually laid low, and minded my own business. There were things that were meant to remain hidden from certain people, and these are the secrets that drove me out of Widow's Vale.

I was still running now, I must've looked crazy to all the other people on Edinburgh's pavements. I pushed and ran through as many people as I could and then made an abrupt turn into a small coffee house. I blocked myself with all the strength I had, and then sat at a small table at the back the shop. No one would dare to bother me here, I was in a public area, and not even Amyranth would want to risk such exposure. I tried to calm myself down, but I was shaking and hyperventilating, I was at the urge of breaking down and falling apart.

This was one of the hardest things that I have had to face, and I knew I couldn't do it.

Ciaran always said that I was powerful, and that Amyranth stood no chance against me. Yet, I highly doubted him now. There were few things that I doubted about Da now, after I found out his deepest secret, there were very few things that were left unsaid between us.

I stood up, ordered a hot tea, and then I sat back in my corner, until the tea finally kicked in. There were things that had happened in the last six years, that had completely changed me. I wasn't the Morgan that I used to be. I've spent most of the last five with Killian travelling the world, and ensuring that we stayed out of trouble. During that time I also built my relationship with Da, since after my last (almost) deadly encounter with Amyranth, Ciaran and I became close.

I knew his secret, and I was sure I could trust him. My brother of course though had no idea that I had any relationship with Da, and I'm wasn't about to tell him. Killian never learnt the truth about Ciaran because sometimes we forget about how we are related. We're half-siblings, and that is sometimes is a rather soft topic to touch.

I knew this day would come; I would have to break my promise to my brother. Killian and I made promises to each other – to never get ourselves killed and to never leave each other alone. When Amyranth came after me five years ago, I had been hospitalized for almost two months. I'd been unconscious for almost six weeks, and the only person that ever showed up to sit by my side was Killian.

He claimed that even though he barely knew me at this point I was still his sister, I could not die on him. I was his baby sister and all he had. Of course I felt the same way, I knew he had stayed there with me, and he was the only person left in my life that truly cared about me. This turned out to be the foundation of my relationship with my brother.

I was sure that I was about to break this promise, I could not let Amyranth go after Killian. They knew that all they needed to do was to use my own brother as "bait" and I would come running to my death.

I sat in the coffee house for quite a while, trying to come up with a plan but ended up with nothing.

I had no one to call.

I couldn't call Da, I couldn't risk everything he had worked for in his lifetime, the amount of good he had done to the world of witches because I was being hunted by Amyranth.

I couldn't involve the coven either, because Killian was bound to find out. All my contacts here in Edinburgh, were also Killian's contacts and they were out of the question. T

he only people I knew that could help me now were in London but they were all friends of Hunter's. I wasn't planning on talking to him any time soon, because I knew he didn't trust me and knew that if he saw me he would probably try to bind my powers. Hunter had thought that just because I was forming a relationship with Ciaran, I had become a full time member of Amyranth.

The relationship between Hunter and I had turned from complete love, passion and desire to utter hatred. I couldn't look at him in the eyes anymore, he had betrayed me, he should've trusted me, and known that I had chosen good.

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sweep. Cate Tiernan and her publishers own the characters of Sweep/Wicca. **


	2. Chapter 2

All this thinking about my past has made me feel nauseous. Over the past few years I've avoided thinking of my past. There's many things that I left hanging in the open, many people whom I never said goodbye too. I don't want to think of the past, but right now all I can think of is the journey that I've had so far. My time as a witch, has not been the easiest, first Cal and Selene, finding out about Da and Killian, realizing that my whole life had been a lie.

The hardest thing for me though is that I fell deeply in love, so deeply, that I gave my heart and soul to Hunter, only to have it returned to me crushed. I've tried to forget Hunter, and I think I've persuaded Killian that I have, but I still feel empty. I'm not going to say that I haven't had fun bar-hopping in the last few years, but I can never commit to a proper relationship ever again. I know that as Ciaran and Maeve's daughter I could never have a real relationship with my Muirn Beatha Dan, I'm too much like Da, and I too would make the same choice he did. Hunter did not understand this, thought that I had been spelled, that I had completely gone mad, I tried to explain to him why I wanted to form a relationship with Ciaran, but he couldn't understand. Out of everyone he should understand why I wanted to form a connection with my biological father, he spent most of his life without his parents and this tore him apart. He could not believe the truth about Ciaran, and he told me that there's no way that the Council could even achieve something as large as Da's secret.

It's true the Council didn't achieve anything, if it wasn't Da they'd be scrambling around like chickens without their heads. I remember when we did the Brach together almost six years ago, I thought he had tricked me, made me believe that he wasn't who I thought he was. Yet after a long day of talking and me finally having the gumption to put a holding spell on him, I led the Brach and saw the truth. Ciaran was not the leader of Amyranth, he was not evil, and I was not destined for darkness.

Ciaran's dark secret all along was that he has been deeply undercover in Amyranth for almost 30 years now. When the International Council of Witches was formed in London, there were 13 original members, one of them was Da. In the late 1970's there were lots of problems being caused by a coven in northern scotland: Liathach, and one of Da's first assignments were to go become an undercover member of this coven. Once inside Liathach, the thirst for power and vengeance was very clear in most of the members. They wanted to be traditional woodbanes, and from then on he knew that they would target anyone and everything including his hometown, Ballynigel. Da became very well liked by the coven members, and soon was so deep inside this coven that he became the inherited leader of Amyranth. Once Amyranth was formed, there was no way out for him, and he knew he had to sacrifice everything in his life to ensure that Amyranth does not bring the death and devastation that they wished to bring on the magickal world. He married Grania even though he knew that there was nothing in this marriage other than ensuring his position in Amyranth. The council's plan worked well. Ciaran was leading Amyranth, told the council when Amyranth was planning on calling a dark wave on a coven, they disbanded the dark wave and relocated the covens. The plan worked brilliantly for years. The only dark wave that Da couldn't stop was Belwicket's. Amyranth did not tell him that they had conjured a dark wave against Belwicket till after they had finished the spell. They all knew that he from Ballynigel and may have had second thoughts about this spell, it was of the few times that he almost blew his cover.

There were choices that he made, that could've changed my life, probably for the better. Yet I can not blaim him for not revealing his true identity, he has saved thousands of lives, with one great price that of my mother's, his family and friends. Had he revealed his identity to Amyranth, he would most likely be dead, and neither Killian nor I would have ever existed. I don't know if we would have been better off, without being involved in this mess. I can't blame Da, nor Maeve yet there wasn't much in sight for us, especially I as the Sgiurs Dan, have no choice but to "join" Amyranth, or to be killed by Amyranth.

I don't want to let the latter happen. I don't want to break my promise to Killian, and I truly believe that if something were to happen to me, Da could not keep his cover, he even gets edgy when I tell him that the only solution to save both of us is that I should join Amyranth, he could use the help, and wouldn't have to risk anything more. I can't see another solution, yet I thought I had more time to think of a plan to get away, to get Killian and myself far away from Amyranth, I didn't think they would go after me so soon. I have no time, to get away. I either have to join Amyranth or make sure I get killed before they get to Killian.

* * *

**So This is my brand new story, I haven't written much, in almost a year now. I moved continents and started college, so I've been a bit pre-occupied. I'm sorry that sometimes I may not be making any sense, I would really appreciate some reviews, and reccomendations. (Don't Be Too Mean) and as usual of course I don't own any of the Sweep characters.**

**-Rege**


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry Everyone, I thought I was done with writing. I haven't been inspired in a long time to write, but I've been reading some wonderful new stories, and actually got some reviews on this story. Thanks for the inspiration everyone. So I decided that maybe I can try and finish this one off. Sorry I'm a little rusty. I'll try and write more often now.

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or plot of Sweep; they all belong to the wonderful Cate Tiernan. **

**Chapter 3: Run Morgan Run**

I had been overtaken by my dreams, reminiscing of the past and looking for what could have been. I glanced around me, and the once busy café has become almost empty. It was just me, and this other elderly couple. I decided that I was no longer safe here. I finished my tea, put a simple hiding spell, and slid out the front door.

I walked down the street, put the strongest blocking spells up; and walked slowly but steadily down the street. I did not dare to send my senses out; as I was sure someone was waiting to get a glimpse of my power. So I walked, and blended in with the crowd. I decided, I was going to run far away from here; and leave the country. I immediately hailed a cab, and in under 30minutes I was standing in the middle of the airport.

I went to the ATM, maxed out all my credit-cards and withdrew all the money out of my accounts. I bought a plane ticket, with cash, and had no suitcases; I must have looked like I was fleeing from the authorities.

I was heading towards the gate and checked my cell phone out of habit; I had seven voicemails and one text message. All of the voicemails were from Killian, I checked them, and just to make sure he was alright. He sounded normal, and his happy self. He sounded slightly drunk, but was wondering why I never showed up to the club. I didn't dare call him back; he would figure it out eventually, probably in a few days, that I wasn't even in the country. He was strong enough to sense that.

I knew that I needed to get away from him, now that I had the gumption to leave, before I couldn't. I couldn't hesitate, I hated leaving him behind, knowing that there was a very strong possibility that I would never see him again. He probably would never understand why I decided to break my promise to him? _…but I couldn't bear losing him. _

I then looked at the text message, it was short and quick _"Don't do anything stupid, Morgan_". Of course Ciaran knew what Amyranth was after. He didn't have the opportunity to tell me anything, when I left, but he knew what I had in mind. He probably thought that I would go against them all by myself. But I knew that, that was a direct suicide by my part, and would benefit no one.

He was probably the one person in the world, that could find me if he wanted, but he knew that the best option right now, was just to run and hide. Ciaran was foolish enough to actually blow his cover to save my ass, but what good would that do. That would get both of us killed.

I headed towards the terminal, went through the boring and tedious security lines, and boarded the plane. I sat down closed my phone and waited for take-off. It suddenly hit me; that I must have looked like a wreck. My clothes were still slightly damp, and my hair was all over the place. Normally I would be terrified of flying, I hated flying, I normally did countless of protection and "good-luck" spells, I usually grasped onto Killian's hand, he always complained that I would break it, but today I could do neither of those things and I was terrified of something else today: getting killed by Amyranth seemed way worse than flying right now.

I sat down and shut my eyes, and braced myself for take-off. In the background, all you could hear was the heavy breathing of the passenger, and a polite air hostess. "Welcome to British Airways Flight 294, a direct flight to San Francisco"

. -

**[11 Hours Later]**

I had fallen into a deep slumber. My mind had shut down. I had no dreams no thoughts, but I still had not relaxed. I was still shaking, but it was more of a tremble now. We were landing in San Francisco soon. We were already losing height, and the seat belt signs were lighted. I caught the air hostess as she was running by my seat and asked if she could spare some Tylenol. She returned, with two pills and a glass of water. I hadn't taken proper drugs in years; one of the benefits of being a witch was that I could easily get rid of a headache, a hangover or any other type of pain with the wave of the hand and the mumbling of a few words.

The plane landed, I got my purse from the overhead compartment, and headed out of the plane. I went through the gruesome border security process, and finally walked out into the sunny California sun.

Even though I had slept for so long on the plane, I still felt exhausted. I've been shielding myself since yesterday at about this time. I was running out of energy. I decided that I could probably take down some of the layers of the spell. From what I knew there was no one from Amyranth involved in San Francisco, the cell here had been run by Selene for years, and after her death they had simply dispersed, cut their ties with Amyranth or transferred to other cells. I had specifically come here for that exact reason. Nobody here would know me as Ciaran's daughter. Nobody would recognize me here: I never visited, or lived here. It was an easy place for me to hide.

The reality was though I came here seeking a coven here that even Amyranth wasn't so sure of their strength. They didn't want to destroy them because they had too much power, to "waste". They weren't directly evil, just incredibly immoral. They weren't power hungry, just wanted to create chaos. This was Eagruth. Their name meant exactly that_ "Chaos". _

I was going to find them and join Eagruth.

The New York cell of Amyranth has been trying to make the members of Eagruth join them. They had enough powers that could seem useful to overturn Ciaran's lead in Amyranth. The New York cell, has been trying to gain power over the Scottish cell for years. When Ciaran walked out on them, and went off the map for a few months over 6 years ago, after they tried to kill me, they began mistrusting the other cells, and almost grew into a separate coven. The only reason they didn't leave, was because they knew that by themselves they do not have the power to leave Amyranth, they would be crushed (or killed), and they wouldn't be able to hide well enough from the council.

With the help of Eagruth, they could amass enough power to go against the rest of Amyranth and bring them down. That would make them the strongest dark power.

It the only way to try and get into Amyranth, was to join Eagruth, and that is exactly what I was planning on doing.

Today I have the exact proof that I am my father's daughter. I made the same choice he did all those years ago. I am denouncing my true heritage and forgetting about everything and everybody I have lived with. I am forgetting about my family and friends, and starting my path to join Amyranth in order to save everybody else.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Chaotic

I took a cab to the center of the city. I dragged myself around, until I found a relatively cheap hotel to crash at. I paid them up front for the next two weeks, and dragged myself into the room. I laid on the bed, staring at the ceiling trying to figure out some sort of "master plan".

As exhausted as I was, I couldn't close my eyes. They were shot open, it was only now that I realized how terrified I actually was right now. I had never done anything like this all by myself. I hadn't been threatened like this in a long time, before I knew about Ciaran and Amyranth, back when my biggest problems were Selene, Cal or Hunter.

I decided that I needed to change my name. A couple of years ago, I had changed my name to Riordan. It was a name with a very large lineage of power, but very recognizable in our world. I changed it to something that I had never had a connection to: Katherine Matthews. I needed to find somebody to plagiarize some papers and IDs. I need them, in case this "master plan" of mine took longer than I thought. I had seen enough CSI shows, to know that it can't be that hard to find them, and surely after a quick google search; I knew exactly what to do.

I made myself go to sleep, but surely I was up just a couple of hours later. I was extremely jet lagged and terrified, and sleep wasn't my priority. However I felt completely rejuvenated.

I tried to salvage my appearance, and quickly walked down the street to the nearest clothes store. I bought 500 dollars worth of clothes & necessities: just some basics, jeans, tshirts, a couple of "nice" outfits, pjs and lingerie. In less than an hour, I had found the "bakery", that made me all the fake paperwork, and I had now become Katherine Matthews, from Chicago, Illinois.

After returning all my buys to the hotel room. I washed up, fixed my hair, dressed up, and headed on my quest to find Eagruth. They were known for their immorality, so I'm sure any witch here will know who they are. While shopping earlier, I saw a large occult store, with the power rune, sketched above the door. I knew that this was a good place to start. I tried to find my way back to the store, and once outside, I dropped all my power boundaries, and entered.

I decided that I needed to take my "power block" down, to spark an interest in them. If I seemed as immoral as they were, they would be attracted to my power. I walked into the store, took in my surroundings, and looked for the easiest way to spark some attention. I walked towards the front of the store, where there was a young handsome man. He had thick black hair, and dark blue piercing eyes, we were probably around the same age. His eyes were staring right through me. I looked like I was paying no attention to him, and glued my eyes down to a shelf of books: on how to do different types of illegal magick. I knew that I was at the right place.

A few moments later, that darked-haired man was standing next to me. "I've never seen you here before? Are you new in town?". I had sparked some interest. I looked at him straight in the eyes - "Just moved here from Chicago". He looked at me measured my looks, and then just blurted "You're Woodbane right?". It was undeniable, there is a bond between woodbanes, and somebody with as much power as I have, cannot hide their true clan.

I sent my senses out just to see with who I'm dealing with - and this man had plenty of power. "Yes and so are you." I answered promptly, it was a statement, and not a question. "Katherine Matthews " I introduced myself. "Enchanted Ms. Matthews. I'm Ryan." We continued to make small talk, where were from and all that. Everything I said was a lie. I was getting the feeling that he was trying to flirt with me, and he was really bad at it, but truly enchanting. He tried to do many glamours, to get my attention, but I waved him off. Then he finally asked if I would like to go to dinner with him, and then join him for a circle.

It wasn't uncommon for witches to invite other witches to their circles, but I wanted to see if this was worth my time. While Ryan was enchanting and immoral I wasn't quite sure that he was related to Eagruth. So I fished around - really really fished around. I asked about his friends, and performed my own set of tricks, to show him my power.

He then stopped dead in his tracks, stared at me and said "You're quite interesting. I like you." He asked if  
I knew anyone in San Francisco, and if I had joined a coven yet - because a power and a mind like mine, would be well seen in his coven. I gave him a sideways look, edging him to add more. "We're an all woodbane coven, very powerful - I'm not bragging - we focus on our studies, but we enjoy having fun, our magic can become chaotic."

Chaotic? - I think I may have just hit a jackpot. I looked at him intrigued, his dark blue eyes were piercing through me, and I tried to maintain the façade, and show how I liked the prospect of his chaotic coven - with the powerful magic that had lots of fun. I was intrigued by his offer, and edged to learn a bit more. "I find you quite interesting Mr. Ryan too - so tell me what kind of fun are we talking about?"

He went on about little rite's that they did, a lot glamors, weather magic, some abuse of power, and so forth, but what caught my attention was - the rest you can see yourself. "I get off in 15minutes, wanna join me for lunch, and then we're having a circle. I think you're going to like it".

I was still deciding whether I should accept his offer, but I agreed to it anyways. Ryan seemed handsome, powerful and immoral. "I'll wait for you right here." casually I added "What's your coven's name?"

He looked at me - excited that he had swayed me so quickly - he had really seen some very interesting power tonight. "Eagruth".


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Eagruth

I sat there waiting for Ryan to get off of work, I let him go do some stuff, while I sat in a comfortable couch on the side. Every time he passed by I could feel him expanding his senses trying to break my barrier.

I waited patiently, I had picked up a book about weather magic, and pretended to read it. As I sat there I was amazed at how lucky I was to find Eagruth so quickly. All I had to do now was gain their trust, and make them join Amyranth. Right? That shouldn't be so hard, a hysterical giggle escaped. This was a joke, and very suicidal but I really didn't have many options.

Instantly I felt someone watching me, someone was scrying for me, but I silently put layers of protection around me. It was Killian. I hid my location and shrugged him off. I felt like scum for what I've done to Kill. I made sure that he wouldn't be able to find me, but there were a few seconds of connection, not enough for him to realize what I'm doing, but enough for me to realize what I've done to him. I felt a great amount of worry, dread, and anger radiating from his magic. Most witches wouldn't be able to pick up on that simply by a brief power connection, but I knew him better than most, and had enough power to tap into that. I put all my emotions into a giant box in the back of my head, and made sure to keep it shut. This was not a time for me to contemplate my emotions.

Ryan was almost done, he picked up his jacket, and was heading my way. "Katherine, you ready?" I stood up, and faced him. I nodded and we were out the door.

We went to this little café down the street, we had some paninis and coffee. He asked me questions, about myself, which I answered with complete lies. We chit-chatted for an hour or so. He asked me about my background in magic, I made up stories - well I made up some stories. You see, I've done my share of illegal magic - well not really illegal, just immoral. I've done weather magic with Kill, abused the will of plants with Ciaran, and used some pretty questionable magic with Hunter - I changed a few names in my stories and there we go I had my own real immoral magic stories.

We stood up and I followed his lead. He kept trying to hold my hand, and I kept pushing him away. He was in the middle of telling me a story about how he and his buddies had conjured a storm just for fun - as we were heading into the back room of the occult store he worked in. I felt the energy, the power and the concentration - Eagruth was definitely a strong coven - and definitely something that Amyranth would go after.

Ryan walked around and introduced me to a group of his friends. They were all powerful but nothing I couldn't handle. He introduced me, and they gave him a few sideways looks - to test my powers they insisted I did some weather magic. I focused and with the blink of an eye I had created a mother of the storm. We laughed and walked towards the circle room.

I was prepared to do this - sacrifice everything I have and everyone I've known - to protect them. I stayed close to Ryan, continued my little flirting fiasco. We started to form a circle. My eyes were scanning the room. Eagruth had 13 members tonight here - including myself. The ideal number for magic.

I was taking in the power and concentration - this was nothing like the circles I've seen before. I tried to grasp all the people in the room, memorize and familiarize myself with them, but I was stopped dead in my tracks. There was one person, I didn't need to memorize, I knew them better than anyone else in the world. I was taken into shock - as I stared deep into his green eyes.

What was Hunter doing at an Eagruth circle?


	6. Chapter 6

News: 2 chapters in 2 days. WOW. I'm really on a roll here. I haven't written this much in a really long time, but I have plenty of ideas for this story so I'm trying to get them down on paper, before I forget them. Thanks for the reviews everyone! Enjoy!

**Chapter 6: Hunter**

My thoughts were swirling, and I was completely at loss for words. Why is he here? I'm guessing the council, knew about Eagruth and wanted to keep a close eye on them - but I could not have the council know I'm trying to join Amyranth. I tried to keep my emotions in check - I knew tonight I was going to be a blubbering mess.

Hunter and I had not broken up in the best of terms, we were all but married back then, and I trusted him with everything. He knew me better than everyone else in the world, and I thought I knew him just as well. Apparently though, deep down Hunter was a totally different person.

We were getting ready for our hand fasting. I had tried to make it as traditional of a catholic wedding as possible, even though we were both Wiccan, for the sake of my parents and friends. Back then the majority of my family and friends were catholic, and I was the oddball.

It had been almost a year since I was initiated and my power was growing steadily and beautifully. I was facing more and more trouble from Amyranth, they were all after my powers, and I was used to dealing with that, until one day I was face to face with Ciaran.

Everything had changed since the day, Amyranth had tried to kill me, most of Amyranth had decided to come after me, I would have been dead on the spot if it hadn't been for Ciaran. He stopped them, put everything he had worked for at risk, to save me. He couldn't see what had happened to Maeve happen to me. I kept all this a secret from Hunter - most of the attacks and any encounter with Ciaran. I didn't want him to become too involved with Amyranth it was too dangerous. It was then when I started to become suspicious of Ciaran, I confronted him, and after a long time, we did the tath meamna - and I found out everything. It had been weeks that I tried to explain it to Hunter, that I wanted to form a real relationship with my birth father - he was all I had, and this was my opportunity to form my own real family.

When I told Hunter the truth he had not taken this well, he thought I had gone mad. We screamed and yelled at each other for hours, we actually started throwing witch fire at each other. He claimed I'd been spelled. I should've known all along that his loyalty to the council was stronger than his love for me. Finally he put me under a binding spell. I couldn't move - I panicked, he actually tried to pull the braigh out on me. He was seriously contemplating on binding my powers. I've been put on binding spells before, Amyranth, Cal, Selene, and Ciaran have all done that to me, but I never expected it from Hunter, it is a complete abuse of power and he knew it. I gnawed my way out of the spell. I muttered a few words in Gaelic and he was flung across the wall. I knew he was hit hard, but I stood up, and walked straight out the door of our apartment. That was the last time I saw him.

A few months later, I had been attacked by Amyranth, they had put binding spells on me, and were draining my power, I don't remember much of this. I had gone under long before Ciaran got there. I was told the story months later, after one of my "teaching sessions" with Ciaran. All I remember was a ridiculous amount of pain, I felt like I was being torn to pieces. I was hospitalized for months, completely unaware of what was happening, and the only person that every sat by my side was Killian. He was there day after day.

I knew that Hunter must have heard about the attack, an attack so strong, that they had almost killed the Sgiurs Dan - news like that traveled fast, and the fact that he hadn't even wondered how I was - if I was dead or alive - hurt me even more.

It had been almost 6 years since that happened, and just seconds ago I had seen him again. I had to collect myself. It had just been seconds since I saw him, I had replayed my memories so quickly, that I forgot where I was. I was at an Eagruth circle, trying to make my way to join Amyranth. I needed to make sure that he did not report back to the council. They did not need to know I was here, because if they knew, Ciaran knew, and I really didn't want to hear his opinion on this.

I was completely oblivious to Ryan next to me, that was staring at me. He poked at me, and I glared at him. "Sorry I spaced out, you've got some impressive power sources in here" I told him. "I think you can take them on, and beat them, I've never seen as much power as you have Katherine". I knew he was complimenting me, and he was right I could take them on. We were still waiting for a few people to join the circle. They walked in, and the coven leader went behind them and closed the chalk circle. We were now facing each other. There were 13 people in this circle. The coven leader, started the circle by making the basic boundaries and thanks to the goddess.

Seconds later I felt like someone was staring straight through me. It was Hunter. It felt like it had taken him so long to recognize me, I had gone through our whole life time in the last few seconds. He was in shock. I saw his jaw drop, and an attempt to mouth my name. I stared at him, and hoped he didn't do anything stupid. Thankfully he really didn't do much other than stare. We started moving in a circle and started chanting power chants. It was very strong, we stirred power, and I could hear the thunder rolling above the building. We were definitely up to something. We started one by one saying the beginning of a shape shifting spell. I recognized this spell, I've done it my share of times. I stared around, I watched Hunter transform into a strong powerful wolf, but he was a brown russet color. My turn came and I transformed into my usual wolf self. I was a little shorter than Hunter, but I had darker fur. Ryan next to me turned into a hawk. We still continued using our powers and continued the circle. It was very different to complete the circle in the form of an animal.

The circle finally came to a halt, the exhilarating power came to a stop, and we were all transforming back to our human selves. This was fascinating. Next to me I felt Ryan pull my arm, he looked at me, straight through the eyes, and seconds later his lips were on mine. We kissed briefly and strongly. I knew I had to play along with this, he was the key to me entering Eagruth, so I pushed back against him. I felt Hunter tense up from across the room and I tried to shrug it off. We were apart now, and we started talking, the group of witches we were speaking with before surrounded us, and before I realized it, Hunter was gone.

We sat there eating snacks, and talking, the room started to empty out. I had spoken with everyone in the coven except Hunter. They seemed to approve of my presence - anybody that can shape shift probably had enough power to be approved for Eagruth. Ryan came back with my jacket and his. We were making our way down the stairs, as I finally asked him. "Who was the blonde guy, - the one that also turned into a wolf". "That's Hunter, he's been with us for almost 2 years now. He's awesome, I just think there was something up with him today. You'll meet him next week" I nodded, and we walked off. He asked me where I lived, I told him I was still at a hotel, I was waiting for the apartment to empty. I could move in next week. He asked if he could come over tonight, I laughed at him and told him we could have breakfast tomorrow morning. We were definitely not going to sleep together.

He walked me to the front of the hotel, we kissed goodbye and I walked straight through the lobby.

I entered the elevator, and Hunter followed straight behind. The doors closed shut. I was now on an elevator with my muirn beatha dan, and all I could think of, was how can I seriously injure him.

We got to my floor and I walked straight out, he continued following me, I opened the door to my room, and he went in first. I closed the door behind me, put some protection spells, hiding spells, and silencing spells, because I'm pretty sure there's going to be a lot of yelling.

"Why are you here?" he asked me, his accent was still strongly pronounced and I still loved it. I stared at him, I was at loss for words, I knew I had to tell him, I didn't have a choice, but I didn't know how to do it, and if I could trust him. "Why are you here Niall? Doesn't the council frown upon its members being in dangerous evil covens!" He stared at me, and it seems we were both a loss of words. Under mutual agreement we were ready to do a tath meamna Brach. I sat cross legged with him, we joined hands, and started to relax.

As much as I actually wanted to yell at him, and bite his head off, there was still a large part of me that wanted to be surrounded by his arms, have him next to me, have his lips on mine. How sick was that?

We started to go into each other consciousness, I let everything out. I let him know everything. I trusted him, he may have not trusted me but I trusted him. I felt his sadness, his regret, his worries, and his passion. He was not evil, he was doing this for the council, he was trying to join Amyranth. Ciaran wanted out, and they needed someone else in there - and he volunteered himself. He was doing this for me - so that I had the opportunity to have a family. He was joining Amyranth for me. He found out everything I had said back then was the truth. Ciaran was part of the council, and he felt terrible for everything that had happened to us. I learned so much more about Hunter and myself in this time. I lowered the boundaries of the spell, and there were tears streaming down my face, and I did the only thing I could even think of doing, I placed my face close to his, and our lips were glued together. This felt so right. Moments later, I pulled back and started to sob, letting him hold me in his arms.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Reality

For the first time in a very long time, I felt safe and calm. Ever since I left Edinburgh I've been stressed and overworked. I hadn't breathed – in almost one week. Hunter just knew how to press my buttons. You see Hunter and I are exact opposites, I'm hot-tempered, loud-mouthed, and sometimes my big mouth get me into trouble. He was quite, reserved and mostly in control of his temper. That's why the two of us worked so well.

I could sense that Hunter finally believed me. That finally he understood that I was not a liar, and not a member of Amyranth, but I needed to stay on focus. I needed to get into Amyranth, and Eagruth was my key in. I couldn't let Hunter ruin that. My family and friends' lives relied on that. Hunter's life relied on that too. We could never be together – and by now he should have realized that. I needed to convince him to go – leave Eagruth – take a sabbatical or something, so that I could get what I needed done.

For the first time in years, I woke up in Hunter's arms – he was still asleep and he had this really goofy grin on his face. It was quite funny. I knew what needed to be done. I kissed him lightly, rolled over and started to get dressed. I knew I had to talk to him, I couldn't just leave him hanging – he'd come after me. All these years he's put himself in harms way to find me. I sat back down on the bed, and just stared at him. I just wanted to run away with him. Take him and move somewhere far away – like Australia – and never deal with this. But I couldn't do that to Ciaran or Killian.

Hunter finally woke up. He knew what was coming, and I was sure he was going to argue with me. "You need to leave Eagruth" I told him. "We can't pretend we don't know each other forever, and I can't work with you there – this is something I need to do – for my family". I could see a flash of anger in his eyes, but it was soon replaced by worry. "I don't want to lose you again." I knew the desperation in his voice, but I was surprised he didn't flip out.

"I need you to go back to England – far away from here away from the council – and don't go to Edinburgh I don't want Ciaran to know what I'm doing, and don't go to Killian because I'm pretty sure he's going to kill you after what happened last time." I was serious. I gave him my most serious stern look. I know he could see right through me.

"Morgan, are you sure you know what you're doing?" he asked me. Honestly I really had no clue where this was going but I needed him to believe that I did. I nodded back at him. He sat up on the bed, and kissed me on my forehead "Please don't get yourself killed. OK?" "I'll leave tonight."

Well that was easy. Maybe too easy, but I think Hunter understood how desperate I was to solve this. He knew I had run out of options, if he wanted me to stay alive I needed to join Amyranth. That was pretty obvious.

After we ate breakfast, I went and took a shower, by the time I got out – Hunter was gone.

I really hope he was telling me the truth, and left (for a very far place).

I needed to get this plan rolling.

I checked my phone, and had a text from Ryan. He wanted to do breakfast but it was too late for that, I told him that we could meet for dinner at five.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Amyranth

Hunter had left – as I had instructed him to do. I really thought that he was going to go with a much bigger fight. I was shocked (and sort of disappointed) that he didn't fight me – tell me I'm crazy for going against Amyranth by myself. The fact the even Niall had agreed that this was the only way to make sure I don't get myself killed shows that the situation is pretty screwed up. I knew this was a suicide mission, but for Hunter to agree was a whole different story.

I was meeting Ryan for dinner this afternoon. It was just going to be the two of us. Or so I thought. I got dressed into some jeans and a nice top. Something practical, he was unpredictable, and I knew he had something planned for tonight. I walked our the door and walked a few blocks away to the restaurant he had agreed to meet at. As soon as I walked out of the hotel, I regret wearing the heels. I was never a girl for high-fashion and this was particular bad timing for me to wear them.

I greeted Ryan with a kiss on the cheek. We sat down and ordered some coffee. The waitress politely greeted us and handed us some menus. It was a cute little Italian place. Ryan seemed really restless today, so I asked him what's wrong. He said this morning, one of the coven members told him he was going back to England for a while. He told me it was Hunter, and I was so glad that Hunter had done that, and I was hoping he actually did go to England and is not staying around here.

I asked Ryan why this bothered him so much – Hunter hadn't seemed to be one of the people that Ryan was really close to in the coven. He then said "Tonight we're having a circle with another coven, their here from New York. Their very strong, very powerful and their looking for a coven with a lot of power and ambition. We've been talking to them for a very long time, and we finally decided to give them a chance – the problem is they're looking for a coven with 13 members, with Hunter leaving that leaves us with 12 people"

I nervous giggle escaped from me. This was perfect. The New York coven had to be Amyranth. I needed to be the 13th member of Eagruth. Ryan's phone rang, I told him to answer it. It was somebody else from Eagruth "What do you mean Hunter left? Doesn't he know how important the circle is tonight?" It seemed all of Eagruth was really tight about this. Then I heard the magical words "What if we let Katherine become number 13 – she definitely has enough power?" I heard a conversation between the two, they were still speaking kind of quietly and quickly so I really couldn't understand them.

A few minutes later, Ryan returned to the table he had this really big smile on and he asked me "How would you like to come to a circle tonight?"

JACKPOT. I had just hit the jackpot. The plan was starting to role. Tonight I was having a circle with Amyranth.

Ryan continued to explain – the guys were really impressed with your powers last night, and since we are running out of options, we were wondering if you'd like to join us tonight. I can't imagine a better fit then you.

I smiled politely back at him, and I agreed to come tonight. I told him I'd meet him at the store in an hour. I wanted to go back to the hotel and freshen up. He seemed to object but I ignored him. I needed to go back, and add some more layers of protection, and some disguising spells.

The New York cell, knew who I was, they knew I was a powerful witch that used to date a seeker, and that had gotten away from them. My power is recognizable and I'm almost sure they would put the two together. The only thing they really didn't know was that I was Ciaran's daughter, and he was the one that helped escape that night.

I walked back to the hotel, as I was passing the information desk, I was chased down by one of the employees. "Excuse Ms. Matthews you've got a package for you at the front desk" I walked up there and was handed an envelop. The envelop was marked with all sorts of spells, I could see that. I hurried up to my room and as soon as I was through the door. I ripped the envelop open.

These spells were very well done, very neat, and the signature of the spell-crafter was very well hidden. I was starting to get an idea of whom this was from. I pulled off the sheet of paper that was in there it was completely blank. I knew better than that. I grabbed my athame, and pointed it directly at the paper. "Don't get yourself killed Morgan. I'm going to deal with this". As soon as I finished reading the spells were dispersed and I was left holding an empty piece of paper.

I knew the handwriting, and I knew that it had to be Ciaran he was the only one that could find me, and do spells like that. I looked at the envelope, there was no postage, this envelop was hand delivered. Ciaran was in San Francisco, and was about to do something very stupid.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Wolf

I sat calmly on the bed. Ciaran was here, was he crazy? I felt furious. I couldn't concentrate with him here. I was scared he was going to leap out from under the bed. I knew him well enough that he would be furious if he knew what I'm doing. You see, Ciaran and I are pretty similar. We're very stubborn and we have very hot (and loud) tempers. There haven't been many times that we argued, but the times we have it has gotten ugly. I've ended up sending my fair share of spells at him during the heat of the moment (and actually so has he)

I'm pretty sure he knows I'm up to no good. I'm not exactly sure he knows exactly what I'm doing but whatever it is he knows it is not a good idea. I'm prepared to do pretty much anything to make sure Amyranth doesn't get to Killian, or finds out the truth about Ciaran. I couldn't bare him losing everything he has worked for – I knew he was prepared to do that, but I could not watch that, it would always bother me, I'd always have it on my subconscious.

I realized that I was freaking out. I collected myself, and went to get dressed. I changed into some comfortable yoga pants (no zippers or metal buttons), and a cute top. I'm guessing this circle was going to involve some shape shifting. I'm also pretty sure the other night was a trial run. I wasn't going to turn into a wolf while wearing skinny jeans and heels. I put my hair up into a neat ponytail, and then started to weave a layer of hiding spells.

I'm not sure how much the hiding spells worked, I just wanted to distract them. It had been years since I had contact with the New York cell, the last time probably was when the tried to drain my powers when I was in high school. They shouldn't be able to make that connection immediately. I grabbed my jacket and headed out the door.

I walked to the occult store, it was about 9pm, and it was on the chilly side. I was slightly cold, but appreciated the breeze. I walked swiftly and thought about what could've been if my family was different. After tonight everything would change.

I was at the store, and the magick radiating from this place was quite amazing. It would make any blood witch stop in their path. I headed up the stairs. There were a good twenty of people in the room. They were drinking some ceremonial wine and munching. Witches like to munch that was something I knew very well. I really didn't recognize anyone from Amyranth, I caught a glimpsed of Ryan and headed his way. I stood right next to him, and he acknowledged my presence. He was talking to someone I recognized from the circle last night. They both seemed on edge and nervous.

A few minutes later a man stood in the center of the room and said "We all know why were here, let's see what Eagruth is worth". Everyone gathered in a circle and we started the incantations to the goddess. I scanned the circle, and made sure Ciaran was no where to be seen, then I tried to see if I recognized anyone. There were a couple whose faces were familiar, the two older ones, that may have been there in New York.

As far I knew, I don't think the New York cell, or any Amyranth cell knows that I am Ciaran's daughter. I'm not exactly sure who they think I am. Like the other day, we started the shape shifting spell. Going clockwise each person started to shift. The first Amyranth member turned into a hawk. This was the same hawk that I used to see in my dreams. We had some cougars, cheetahs, snakes, a fox, but so far no wolves. It was my turn, I started the process. I felt every bone in my body bend and twist, and soon I was a wolf, standing on all fours.

I saw the gazes of Amyranth fix on me, and that is when I realized how foolish I was. I swore in all the languages I knew, and braced for an attack. I should've realized that my wolf self, is identical to Ciaran's – same coloring and same look. I just stood a couple of inches shorter. Anyone that had ever done a circle with him, would realized the relationship.

At my surprise nobody flinched, but they were all tensed up, ready to launch at me. My fur stood up, and I was ready. We continued the circle, until everyone was transformed. The circle was silent as we each mentally did spells. We continued to work a spell, from what I realized was conjuring a storm around the city. This was a bad storm, would probably cause damage and even casualties. The magick slowed down, and we all remained in our animal form. We started doing the reverse spell, and slowly each transformed into our normal selves.

Before I was fully transformed we were all up in arms. Witch fire was flying back and forth, and I retaliated. Amyranth had placed a "bubble" spell around me, so it was just me and them being affected by these spells. They were trying to put a binding spell on me, but I was too strong. I heard Ryan mumble something, they were trying to send energy spells to me.

The room froze, and we just stared at each other.

Who are you? What's your name?

I weighed my words carefully and responded. "Morgan McEwan. I heard Amyranth is trying to oust Ciaran. I want to get back at him – he has no idea who I am, and neither do you. I want to get back at him for killing my mother and family. He killed my family only to realize that I am one of the few people he has left in the world. I am his family. I want to rid our world of weak people like Ciaran and weak covens like Belwicket – the only thing they are doing is bringing down our name. "

I spoke with icy clarity, they couldn't see my lies for nothing they tried. I sounded so sincere that it actually scared me. I've become my Father's daughter – a great liar and deceiver. Except that I was not working for the council, I was doing this to protect my family, and I would do anything – and this included a lot of illegal magick.

Everyone in the room looked at me in awe, and with almost unity, they welcomed me into their coven. I had put my foot through the door, I had infiltrated Amyranth.


	10. Chapter 10

**Writer's Note: Hello everyone. I'm sorry I'm really bad at updating this, but life is hectic. If you could please R&R, it may give me some more inspiration to update. *hint hint* I can see that a lot of people are reading this, so if you could spare the time, and write a few words. I would really appreciate it. Enjoy **

**Disclaimer: All the characters are property of the wonderful Cate Tiernan.**

Chapter 10: Father's Daughter

Amyranth lowered the bubble spells, and there was complete silence for a few seconds. Eagruth was still trying to figure out what I had just pulled off. They were astounded that they had fallen in my trap. Ryan looked like he wanted to say something, but decided against it. Nick stepped up, and said "What in the world just happened here?".

One of the Amyranth members, laughed and said "I'm guessing she never told you who she was?... Don't worry though, because I think we can use a coven like you, especially with Morgan over here"

Eagruth, kept silent, and poor Ryan was standing there, with his jaw slacked open. I actually felt bad for the guy, I had deceived him, and he actually seemed to really like me. He was actually nice (despite being in an evil coven and all that).

A few minutes later, Anna, one of the girls from Eagruth, came back with a plate full of cookies. She was trying to break the ice. Apparently even the world's most evil witches get the munchies. We all stood there awkwardly for a while, munching on snacks. Nobody was saying a word, but after spending all this time with witches I was used to it and the silence was not awkward. I think we were all just collecting our thoughts.

I was standing there attempting to plan my next move. No one really talked to me. Most of Amyranth was huddled in a corner, probably deciding what to do with me, while Eagruth was standing around the snack table, and being really quiet.

As we were standing, there was a strong wave of power that resonated across the room, that practically knocked us all off our feet. The Edinburgh cell of Amyranth, was scrying for New York's members.

All of the Amyranth members in the room raised their barrier spells, and were ready to attack. I knew who was leading the circle at the other end and I knew this meant trouble. I sensed the power and a lot of concealment spells. Ciaran was performing spells with Amyranth and about to figure out, what I had done. I knew that I would never hear the end of it when he found out.

While we were standing there, I got a witch message from one of the members of New York's Amyranth, to not identify myself to the others. I didn't say a word, so I just stood there, and waited.

I have heard about Amyranth's scrying methods before, and they are very powerful. Ciaran had once told me that there are times, that they can appear to each other while scrying, this is how they do most of their meetings, since the cells were all around the world.

So, there I was standing in front of floating silhouettes, of Edinburgh's Amyranth. As soon as the spell was completed, I stared directly at Ciaran, and hoped that he wouldn't do anything stupid. He looked at me, dumbfounded and at loss of words. He looked straight through me. His eyes that were so like my own, were filled with anger and desperation. I turned away because I couldn't stand it.

Ciaran messaged me in my mind. "You know Killian came after me today, because he thinks I killed you?" I looked back up, and tried to think of a response. " You remember him right?". He knew I had a soft spot for Killian and was hoping I would come to my senses. I also couldn't help visualize Killian attacking Ciaran, and knew how frustrated Kill was.

In the meantime, the rest of Amyranth, was staring at Ciaran waiting for a response from him. They couldn't tell that we were having a conversation in our minds. A few seconds later he said in a very sturdy voice "Coven meeting tomorrow at midnight. We need to talk." and the floating silhouettes disappeared out of sight.

We were finally left alone in the room. Amyranth looked like that had just been slapped, and Eagruth, looked like they just realized what they got themselves into. One of Amyranth's members then approached me "If all you say is true we could use you, but first we need to see if you are truly your Father's daughter" and with that he put me under a binding spell, and started to hurl spells at me.

My quest now, was to get myself out of the binding spell and retaliate. These spells were painful, and would have made me buckle over in pain if I was able to move. I tried to think quickly, and started some protection spells, I had spent hours with Ciaran doing spell training. I began my power chant, and started weaving a very complicated spell that could break the first barrier of the binding spell. I knew I had the power to make it through this attack. Amyranth was testing me, surely one of Ciaran's children has to have a decent amount of power. They are trying to test how much power I have, and how much I have been trained.

There was a shockwave of power, and I was out of the binding spell, I quickly took off the pain inflicting spells, and spewed out a long chain of gaelic words, that made everyone in the room stare at me. I showed them I had the power, and that I knew how to use it. The same person that began the spells against me nodded with approval and said "Meet us tomorrow at midnight. You know how to find us" and then they were gone. Amyranth had pulled a "Houdini" trick on us. They had shifted out of the room, and Eagruth was left alone to stare at me.

I said goodnight to Eagruth, and walked straight out of there as soon as I could. I knew Ciaran was in San Francisco and was nearby. I expected him to leap out from under the stairs, ready to shake some sense into me, but there was no one there. I walked out the door, and onto the street. There was no one around, as it was very late at night, so I started walking back to my hotel room, feeling incredibly alone.


	11. Chapter 11

Family Ties: Frozen in Time

I walked down the street alone. All I wanted to do was crash on my bed. I missed Killian, and Ciaran had made me feel like crap. Tonight, had really drained my powers, and I wished that I had someone to go home to. Appropriately it started to rain. So, I hurried up, and could see the hotel in the distance.

A few minutes later I walked through the hotel lobby, straight to the elevators. I was exhausted both physically and emotionally, so I wasn't even paying attention to my surroundings. I stumbled down the hallway, into my room. I collapsed on the bed and began to cry. I have no idea how long I laid there, until I fell asleep.

You know that annoying feeling you get when someone stares straight through you. How you can actually physically feel someone staring at you, well that is what woke me up. I blocked myself, and panickly looked around. Of course Ciaran was sitting on the couch on the other side of the room.

"Are you trying to scare the hell out of me?" I mumbled, still half asleep. "Don't you know it's creepy to stare at someone when they sleep?" I continued to mumble.

"Don't you know it's stupid to join Amyranth" he replied back with a tone in his voice that I couldn't place. I knew this was not going to go well. "I guess my parents forgot to mention that to me" I replied half-jokingly. He looked at me, and I could tell he was contemplating something. "You don't look that good", and that is when I remembered I was still wearing my clothes from last night, my shoes were still on, and my hair looked like I had gone through a hurricane.

I was sitting up on the bed now, and I was well aware I looked terrible. I was probably completely tomato colored since I had spent most of last night crying. I realized that I couldn't look at Ciaran right now. I knew that I had gone against everything he wanted by joining Amyranth, and I did not want to face that.

He seemed awfully quiet too, and that was very unlike him. I used to joke, that he talked so much that it seemed that he liked to hear himself speak. There were mornings, that he kept talking about spells, constellations, and he would never stop. Today was different though.

I was looking around the rest of the room, when my eyes fell on two very large cups of coffee. I really could have used some coffee right then. As I reached out for them, Ciaran said "Not until we talk". I knew he was messing with me. We're both night owls and he knows I cannot function without coffee.

"What do you want me to say?" I replied hastily. I wanted to get this conversation over with. As I finished this sentence Ciaran started on a long monologue.

"Are you out of your mind? Do you have any idea what you got yourself into? Are you trying to get yourself killed? Is that it? I know you've had a crap few years, but really? You joined Amyranth! That was your response? I told you to get out of town! Hide! Lay low! Go to Alaska or something! Move to Australia or something! Take Killian and disappear! That was my point! Not run to America to join Eagruth, to join Amyranth! What in the world did you tell them anyway? They must have figured out that they've seen you before? They could have killed you on the spot! Did you ever think of that? Third time is a charm Morgan! It's not your job to save the world? ….."

He continued talking, and talking, but he wasn't yelling. He was venting. He really couldn't tell me anything, because he knew he was being a hypocrite! He did the exact same thing years ago.

"….Are you aware your brother, is out here? Do you know that? Listen Morgan, you know Killian has no idea about all this. You know he's going to think you have lost your mind. What are you going to tell him? Oh I forgot to tell you I decided to join Amyranth on a wing! Stop looking at me like that! You look like you're about to burst out laughing. It's not funny! I know you think I am being a hypocrite, but I started this for different reasons. When I joined Liathach I had no idea it was going to get this big. I wanted to do something good, I was sick of people and their thoughts about Woodbanes! I never realized I'd be here almost 40 years later. I don't wish this life on no one Morgan, especially not you! You're being foolish, Leave Now. I can't watch you do this to your life! You have lost practically everyone ever since you figured it all out. Once you figured out you were my daughter, everything has gone wrong for you. I know I am no parent role model but this is ridiculous. I know you are making a huge mistake…."

He seemed to be slowing down…it sounded like he was trying to make excuses to himself. He was trying to convince himself that there were other options for me, but we both knew there weren't. I had already become teary eyed, somewhere during his speech, and now I was sitting there crying silently, trying to think of a retaliation. Ciaran was still talking when I finally had the gumption to talk.

"You think I'm doing this, without thinking this through. I would love to hear a suggestion from you, because you know that even if I moved to Australia, Amyranth would find me and kill me. If they think I'm one of them, they wouldn't kill me, they wouldn't go after Killian, and they wouldn't go after you. It may be selfish, but I don't want to lose anyone else. I'm sick of it. I can't take that responsibility. I have had enough, with running away from Amyranth. I know you want out from them, but I can't deal with that either. Do you have any idea who they want to replace you with? I'm damned either way. Amyranth needs to be disbanded, and the only way that can be done is from the inside. You know that, and whether you admit it or not you could use the help."

There it was. We had both finally shut up. I reached over the bed, and grabbed the cup of coffee. We sat there in silence. Ciaran sat back down on the couch. He had been pacing all this time, and I was still sitting on the bed. I was trying to calm myself down, as I felt a strong sensation of magic coming from somewhere else in the Hotel. I looked at Ciaran, and headed for the door. I recognized that pattern of magic, and dreaded what I was going to see. Ciaran followed right behind me, he put a few layers of concealment on him, so that no one would see him. We got off the elevator, and we were faced with something absolutely crazy. All the people in the hotel lobby, were literally frozen in time. They stood there like statues. I knew exactly who could work a charm like this.

I turned around to see the two of them rolling on the floor, attempting to fight, they were mumbling spell after spell, throwing witch fire at each other. Both of them actually looked pretty pathetic. I knew they were just fighting out of anger and frustration. I ran over to them, and tried to separate them. Ciaran stood silently behind me so that neither of them would notice him. I was so mad at both of them. Firstly because well Hunter promised he would leave town, and secondly because Killian was stupid enough to follow Ciaran to San Francisco. As soon as they both saw me they stopped, and stared. Killian aimed a witch fire at me, but he knew better than that. "Are you out of your mind?" he shouted after me.

I tried to maintain my cool. "All of you, upstairs now. You're going to get us killed." I said sternly. All four of us, headed towards the elevator. As the doors were closing, I released the charm and the people started moving again, like nothing had happened.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Explanations

**Writer's Note: Here is another chapter. I have an ending in mind, so I'm going to be writing chapters until I am done, before my inspiration runs off again. Thanks HoaLotsAtla for the review **** I'm not sure if they are planning on starting to update those other stories. It sure would be nice though! As always R&R! Please **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, they all belong to the wonderful Cate Tiernan. **

I stood quietly in the elevator, with Hunter, Ciaran and Killian behind me. I had my back facing them, and needed to take a moment, to marvel, that my favorite 3 guys were in the elevator with me. We were all safe and sound (at least for now). The tension in the air, was very strong, but I don't think Hunter or Killian realized Da's presence quite yet. We reached my floor, and walked out together. I pushed through the door to my room as we had left it open, since we were in a hurry.

I ordered them to sit down, and I could hear Kill mumbling to himself under his breath. I also pointed to the invisible space and told Da to take his spell off. Ciaran materialized, and Kill was gaping at us both. "What in the world are you doing Morgan?" Killian was expecting answers but I knew he wasn't going to like them.

I had to figure out a way to explain to Kill about Ciaran. Hunter knew most of the story already, but I'm not quite sure, he knew I had a circle with Amyranth last night. "I need to talk to you." I spoke directly to Killian, "It will be easier to explain everything to him by myself". I was thinking out loud. I grabbed Kill from the arm, and headed for the closet.

The hotel's closet, was a walk-in closet, but no bigger than 4 by 5 feet. I closed the doors, and put some concealment and silencing spells around the door. I needed to take this seriously, and keep Killian calm. I knew he was about to get the shock of his life. I hoped that since I left Hunter and Ciaran alone in the room, they weren't going to kill each other. A few seconds later, I got a witch message from Ciaran saying that he was going to go get some breakfast, and he would be back before noon. That would ease the tension outside in the room.

I was left alone with Killian in the closet, and Hunter was alone in the room. Killian was looking at me with a cartoon expression on his face, that almost made me laugh, but I knew I had to tell him the complete truth about Ciaran, otherwise he wouldn't realize why I am now doing circles with Amyranth.

So I started. "Kill, I know you're mad, but you have to listen to me. The situation is complicated, well more than complicated. I should not have left without a warning in Edinburgh, and for that I do apologize, but I don't want to put you at risk. I know it's selfish, but I can not bear losing you. You have helped me so much over the last few years, and you honestly don't deserve this."

I was calculating my words very carefully. I needed to break this gently.

"I don't want you to think I've lost my mind. I need you to trust me on this, and I will show you the truth later. I've been meeting up with Da almost every week, for the last 6 years. We've been having breakfast, lunches, witch-training sessions, long conversations. I've grown to care for him, and he's taught me so much over these last few years."

He was looking at me, like I had just revealed, that I was a spy.

"I know you don't care for Ciaran, I know you don't like him. I know your scared half to death of him. (whether you admit it or not). I also know your different than the rest of your family. There's a reason you stuck by me all these years. You're not like Grania, or Kyle or Iona. You have a lot more Ciaran in you, than you think. I know you despise the fact that he's the leader of Amyranth. That Amyranth has tried to kill me multiple times, but I found out something that really changed my prospective of him."

Killian was thinking of saying something, but I don't think he knew what to say. I'm sure he had no idea where I was heading with this conversation.

"I found this out, after the incident in New York. Ciaran approached me, thought I should know about this. He couldn't take it if something happened to me. You know Kyle and Iona don't talk to him anymore. He feels guilty for involving all of us in this. I know he could never tell this to you in person, because he feels like a disappointment. This was definitely not how he imagined having a family. You know he loves you. He always thought that out of the three of you, you had the most good in you. You were not destined for Amyranth, and deep down he knows you hated the fact that you're family was responsible for so much evil."

I had to take a break, this was the hardest thing I had to tell someone. I was forgetting to breathe and that was getting to me. Killian and I had discussed, things about his side of the family before. While Kill had done a good share of unapproved magic he was by no means evil, and I knew that he always felt like he didn't fit in, with the rest of the overachieving power hungry side of this family. Killian never had the opportunity to know Ciaran, because he was gone so often. I decided I was just going to blurt out my point, since I had no easy way of putting this.

"Da works for the council"

There it was. Killian stared at me in disbelief, and then asked me "Are you sure?".

"I'm pretty damn sure". I replied, and he started laughing.

I had no idea what to do with his reaction, I knew he was freaking out.

"Please let me explain" I told him, and he stopped laughing, and leaned against the wall behind him.

I started then to tell him the story about the brach, how I found out about it, how Ciaran infiltrated Liatach, how they worked the plan all those years. I could tell he felt uncomfortable about how his family was created, but he never said a word to me. When I was done he almost seemed relieved at the situation. He was relieved that Ciaran wasn't evil.

"You know Morgan, this explains so much" He looked straight at me.

I looked back at him puzzled. "I always knew I was the oddball of the family. I thought I was crazy, thinking that all of Liathach was so wrong and so evil. Everyone around me was so power hungry, you know I never felt like that"

He was taking this way better than I had. I wanted to kill Ciaran after I figured it all out. I couldn't believe someone could cover up all that. I spent so much time thinking I was an heir to darkness. I also have faced Amyranth face-to-face more times than Killian has, and I know how evil they are.

Killian was still giggling like a little girl. It was his defense mechanism. We hugged each other, and continued to laugh at the comicality of the situation. I could not have asked for a better brother than Killian.

As soon as he sobered up he asked "This doesn't explain why you're in San Francisco?"

"OK. I know you're going to get mad when you find out what I did. So please please don't freak out, I can't handle that. I am trying to infiltrate Amyranth. I left Edinburgh because Da warned me, that the next target of Amyranth is the Sgiurs Dan. He can't stop them without blowing his cover, so I decided to run and hide. I couldn't drag you with me in this. I know that they could use you as bait Kill. I've faced them before and I know their ruthless. I don't want Ciaran to do anything stupid either."

I stopped to collect my thought.

"I came to San Francisco to find Eagruth a coven, that the New York Cell is trying to recruit so that they can overthrow Ciaran. After Ciaran came to my rescue six years ago, he left Amyranth for almost 6 months. They are still mad that he walked out on them. I had my first circle with Eagruth three days ago, and last night we had our first circle with Amyranth. They are planning on making them members of Amyranth. They want me to join, and I'm planning on going through with it. Official induction is tonight at 10pm.

Killian's jaw had dropped, and he looked like he wanted to start swearing at me.

"Edinburgh's Amyranth cell and Ciaran scried for the circle last night, and that's when he figured out what I was planning. He came here in the morning to try and convince me otherwise. I've run out of choices Kill. I can't let him lose everything he has worked for, and I can't bear the thought of losing either of you. I want to get this done once and for all."

I realized I should give an explanation on why Hunter is here.

"Hunter has been a member of Eagruth for the last two years. The real reason we were fighting was because I told him, I was meeting with Ciaran, he didn't believe everything I told him, and he tried to pull the braigh out to bind my powers, because he thought I lost my mind or was spelled. I guess Ciaran told the Council he wants to leave Amyranth, so Hunter volunteered himself for the position, because he finally realized that what I told him all those years ago was the truth. "I told him to leave Eagruth, since I had to be the one to join Amyranth not him. I couldn't bare him joining Amyranth. You know that."

There I had laid everything out to catch Killian up on everything. We had been sitting there for almost two hours, it was 11 o'clock. I remember that we had left Hunter outside by himself.

Kill was still trying to process everything. I was giving him some time and space. When he took me in a giant brotherly hug, and told me "Don't you dare break your promise to me. If you die, I will be so mad I will bring you back from the dead, to kill you myself" he spoke near my ear. I nodded and started to cry again. I realized he was crying too. This was a lot to process, and we had no time to adjust. I needed to get ready for tonight.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

So, much information had been spewed in such little time, and it was still only a hint of the whole story. After, I had gotten myself together; I took down the barrier spells, and opened the closet doors. Gingerly, I walked out, and Killian walked shortly behind me. Hunter was nowhere to be found, and so I figured he had gone to get something to eat.

I took a quick shower, and got ready for that night, as I was almost ready Ciaran appeared at the room's door with more coffee and Panini's. We munched in silence, although I could tell Da, was really trying to think about a plan.

Ciaran didn't even acknowledge that Killian knew the truth, and Killian seemed to be ignoring it too at that moment. Ciaran had to proceed very carefully with Killian, they are going to need to spend hour talking, getting to know each other. They had a long road ahead on trying to form a relationship, and right now was definitely not the time to start on that.

I finally broke the silence "You both need to get lost, right about now"

"_Killian, I need you to leave the city, Da and I are going to put all the concealment spells that we can remember on you and then I want you to go find Hunter and leave. Go far away_…" As, I talking I saw he was trying to protest.

"_Morgan, I'm not leaving you alone here"_ he told me, and I looked at him, straight in the eyes, and I could see him pleading with me.

"_I don't want you here, if something happens to you, or any of you, I won't be able to live with myself, I will not make it through the night if something happened. Call me anything you like, but dealing with this, is my problems not yours. I'm the Sgiurs Dan, it's my power they want. This is my destiny, and I'm the one that going to finish this off for once and for good"._

I sensed Ciaran, staring at me, mostly at a loss for words. He agreed with me, as much as it killed him inside. Killian was still attempting to protest, "_Killian, I have already made out my mind about this, if you're not going to leave willingfully, I'm going to send you away, and you'll have no idea or remember any of this_". There was that scary icy voice from a few days ago, I was going to get this done, no matter how much they complained about this. I've had enough, enough of the running and hiding. I needed to end this at once.

I don't think Kill had ever heard me like this, even when I was younger and had all those run-ins with Amyranth, he only heard or saw the aftermath of all those attack, he had never seen me focused, overcharged and ready for battle. I knew that I needed to be harsh because we needed to move quickly. Da, and I did some thorough sigil placing, and concealing cells on Kill, and I sent him away, I also, messaged Hunter, and told him that he and Killian needed to lay low, maybe head to Canada. Hunter sent a *nod* back and I knew that he was not that fond of the idea. I wanted the two of them to be together, they were safer like that.

Killian walked out the room and disappeared into the crowds, leaving Da and I alone, to deal with this entire mess.

Ciaran didn't like any of this, but I knew that he knew there were no other options. I had to join Amyranth tonight. Ciaran filled me in on Edinburgh's plans for tonight. They were going to bind NY, after they had successfully added the power of Eagruth. They had no plans to kill Eagruth but instead wanted to use their power, to overcome the New York cell. Amyranth wanted to get rid of the New York cell, they were stirring up too much trouble, and to the Edinburgh cell too much trouble meant that they were in danger from the council. He asked me a million times, if I remember and knew all the concealment and defense spells he had taught me. Tonight was going to be a long night, it was one of many to come. Ciaran kissed me on my forehead, and disappeared from the room.

I was left alone, to mentally prepare for tonight. I tried to meditate, a little and then called Ryan.


End file.
